Xenon headlight bulbs produce between 2,800 and 3,500 lumens from 35 watt of electrical power. Current-production xenon lighting bulb categories are D1S, D1R, D2S, D2R, D3S, D3R, D4S, and D4R. The D stands for discharge, and the number is the type designator. The final letter describes the outer shield. These xenon headlight bulbs have an opaque mask covering specific portions of the shield, which facilitates the optical creation of the light/dark boundary (cutoff) near the top of a low-beam light distribution.

"R" burners — D1R, D2R, D3R, and D4R — are designed for use in reflector-type headlight optics.

"S" burners — D1S, D2S, D3S, and D4S — have a plain glass shield and are primarily used in projector-type optics.